by Alexa Riley
“Henry, I’m so sorry. All those years wasted—”
I place a kiss on her lips, silencing her apology. We both made mistakes.
“After time passed and I knew you weren’t going to speak to me, I realized I was keeping them for selfish reasons. That if I had one part of you, no matter how small, then it was real. We were real.”
I place the box in her lap and take her hands in mine.
“I saved these, hoping that one day I’d get to place them on you again. I wished with all my heart that we would find our way back to one another. That I’d get to see you wearing them one more time in a white dress. I hoped—when there was no reason to—that you’d have these on while you were becoming my wife.”
There are tears in her eyes, and I wipe them away.
“Become my wife, Kory. Finish what we started ten years ago and spend your life with me. Make me your husband and let me be a father to our babies.”
“Yes,” she cries as she throws herself at me.
She hits me so hard she knocks me back on the bed, but I wrap my arms around her and roll us over until I’m on top of her.
“Yes?” I ask, needing to hear it again.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she exclaims, laughing and kissing my lips.
“I’ll never get tired of hearing that,” I say, sitting up and pulling her from the bed.
“Where are we going?” There’s surprise and shock in her voice.
“To get married. You think I’m going to give you a chance to get out of my grasp? Think again, baby.”
“You’re joking,” she says disbelievingly as I scoop her up in my arms and carry her into the shower.
“When it comes to you getting away from me, I never joke.”
“I guess marrying me is one way to make sure I stay.”
I smack her ass as I walk her under the spray of the water, and her giggles echo off the tile.
“I love you,” I say, kissing her lips as the water runs between us.
“I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Henry
One year later
“What’s wrong?” I ask, coming up behind Kory and wrapping my arms around her.
She’s holding our sleeping daughter, Anne, and though Kory looks content, I know her better than anyone else in the world. I can see the fine line of worry on the back of her neck, and all is not well.
“I’m just nervous about leaving her.”
I kiss her on the neck and rest my chin on her shoulder, looking down at our baby. “Do you think that my parents won’t be able to handle her?”
“No, that’s not it,” Kory says, sighing.
She knows they’re very capable and loving, but being a new mom has been an adjustment. There’s always family around to help, and Kory is a fantastic mother; she just worries.
“You know we’re only going to be gone for a few hours.” I turn her in my arms so she’s facing me.
“You’re right. I want a date night out.” She places Anne in her bassinet and we tiptoe out of the room while she’s still asleep.
When we go to the living room, we say hi to my parents and leave them with a list of instructions about a mile long. But they practically shove us out of the door, saying they want us to go have a good time.
“Are you ready?” I ask Kory as we step onto the elevator.
“I am,” she says, taking my hand in hers. “What do you have planned for us tonight?”
I put in my key and hit the button for the rooftop. Normally this is only used for maintenance, but I thought for a night, we could make an exception.
“Where are we going?” Her voice is filled with excitement and it’s infectious.
“It’s a surprise,” I answer, bringing the back of her hand up to my lips.
When the service doors open, the entire space of the rooftop is revealed, along with a view of the city. There are lights strung all around and candles light the way.
“Oh my god, how did you do all of this?”
Gravel crunches under her feet, and I pick her up, carrying her over to the place I have set up. There’s a table with linens and a picnic basket beside it. Champagne chilling and soft music playing.
“I know you’ve been worried about our first night away, so I thought this would make things easier.”
“You really are the perfect man,” she says, placing a kiss on my lips.
“I know, but feel free to keep reminding me.”
A small love seat has been placed so that it looks out on the city. I sit down with Kory in my lap and reach to the table beside the couch to pour us some champagne.
“Do you know what today is?” I ask as I pass her a glass.
“I think it’s Thursday, but I could be totally wrong,” she says, then giggles and takes a sip.
“It’s the day I asked you to prom.” A look of surprise hits her face, and then she brings her hand to my cheek.
“How do you remember that?” She kisses me and shakes her head. “What if I would have said no? Can you imagine how different our lives would have been?”
“I would have never let that happen. And that’s something I can’t imagine. There’s not a world where you and I aren’t together. It’s that simple.” I kiss her again, and we both take a sip of our drinks.
“You’ve been so perfect through the pregnancy and since Anna was born. I know I’ve been a crazy new mom, but I don’t know how I would have done any of it without you.”
“You’ve given me more than I can ever repay. It’s my job to take care of you.” I set our glasses down and wrap my arms around her as we listen to the music and watch the city below.
We kiss and cuddle as I feed her dinner while she stays in my lap. It’s the perfect night and I know exactly what she needed.
“How do you do it?” she asks, and raises an eyebrow in question. “How do you know exactly what I want without me saying it, and give me the perfect night that I didn’t know was possible?”
“You forget, there isn’t an inch of your heart I don’t know,” I say, dipping her down on the couch and kneeling in front of her. I spread her legs and push the edge of her dress above her hips. “And there isn’t an inch on your body I haven’t had.”
When my hands trail up her thighs, I see the hungry look in her eyes.
“Now sit back and let me enjoy the view,” I say, kissing my way to the warm center between her legs.
Four years later
“What the fuck is that?”
I turn to see Henry standing a few feet behind me.
“What?” I look around to see what he’s talking about. He takes off his suit jacket and drops it over my shoulders, making his cousin Pandora snort.
“What you’re wearing,” he bites out. I look down at my sports bra and yoga pants. This is the first time I’ve been okay with showing off my belly since I had our last baby, but I’m still trying to get in even better shape. Swimsuit season is around the corner.
“Workout clothes.” I look at him like he’s crazy because, well, he is.
“Anyone left in the room in the next thirty seconds will no longer have a job!” he shouts. We’re in the company gym. Pandora had offered to help me with my workout routine. That didn’t seem to be going so well.
The men that were in the gym practically run out. Pandora just shakes her head. “And I know that look cause my own hubs gets it. See you later.” She picks up her water bottle. “Text me. We can work out at my house if need be.”
“You’re a crazy person,” I snap at Henry.
“You’re going to end up with a third kid in your belly.”
I jump back. “You keep that thing away from me,” I joke, good humor replacing my annoyance. I do want another baby. Growing up I thought school and a drive for work were what I wanted in life. I was wrong
. I love being a mom and a wife more than anything in the world.
Henry can put as many babies in me as he wants.
“Miss your curves,” he says, placing a hand on my hip. The suit jacket he’d put on me falls to the floor.
“That why you keep suggesting pasta for dinner every night?” A smile spreads on his face. I don’t know why I’ve even been doing this working out crap. I hate it, but in the back of my head I thought maybe Henry would like it. Seems I was wrong.
He lifts me and walks me to the far wall, my back hitting the cool surface. I wrap my legs around him. I love when he goes all caveman. Even if I pretend to him I don’t. His mouth takes mine in a deep kiss that’s over before I want. “My office. There aren’t any cameras there.”
“We aren’t having sex in your office,” I tell him, knowing it’s a lie.
“We always have sex in my office.”
“Fine, but you’re so not carrying me there,” I fight back, knowing that’s what he plans to do. “Unless you want me to go like this...” I motion to my workout clothes.
He mumbles some curses before putting me on my feet and pulling out his phone. “Clear my floor. No one on it.” I shake my head as he barks into his phone, then I’m thrown over his shoulder as he goes over to the elevator, swiping his key card so it will go straight to his floor.
“Caveman,” I mutter, smiling.
“You love it,” he throws back.
He’s right. I love everything about him.
Epilogue
Henry
Nine years later
“Are you sure your parents are okay keeping the kids?” Kory asks as she walks through the kitchen.
Immediately I forget what she says because I’m too busy looking at what she’s got on. It’s a deep blue wrap dress that’s halfway up her thigh and showing off way too much of her tits. It hugs her small waist and round hips, and her ass bounces with every step. She’s got a body that tempts me every second of the day. And she damn well knows it.
My cock is hard and throbbing at just the sight of her. When the fuck did she get that dress? I want to go over to where she’s standing and bend her over the nearest surface so I can fuck her while she’s wearing it. But I want to look at her for a few more moments before I do it.
“Henry?” she says, and I blink a few times. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I say, gripping the edge of the seat.
“What’s wrong? Are your parents not able to keep the kids? I know they can be a little much, but Mallory and Miles begged to have them for the whole weekend, so I assumed—”
“Where did you get that?” I ask.
“My dress? You like it? I got it on sale at—”
“And you plan on wearing that out of this house?” I grit out, cutting her off again.
She narrows her eyes at me and puts her hands on her hips. “Is there a problem with what I’ve got on? Because I thought I looked pretty fucking hot in it.”
“That right there,” I say, standing up from the chair. “That’s the problem. You do look pretty fucking hot in it.”
A smile pulls at her lips and her hands drop from her hips. She turns to the side a bit, preening in her new dress and showing me every angle.
“You think so?” She bats her eyelashes at me, and it’s a mistake. She’s teasing a tiger right now.
Slowly I walk toward her and she sees my intention. She takes a step back for every one I gain, and the chase is on.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I ask as she backs up against the island.
“Henry, I know that look. We don’t have time.” She looks around the room as if something can help me see reason. All I see is her in that dress. She’s begging to be fucked.
“There’s one thing I want to eat, and we don’t even have to leave the house for it.” I watch as her thighs clench together. “Are you wearing panties?”
The flush of her cheeks gives me my answer, and I take another step to put me right in front of her. The island is at her back and there’s no place for her to go. I grip her hips and lift her, putting her ass on the edge and getting between her thighs.
“Spread them for me,” I say without taking my eyes off hers.
I feel her thighs move on either side of me, and I glance down to see her short dress has risen up to her pussy.
“Is that all for me?” I lick my lips and wait until she nods. “That’s what I thought.”
I scoot her ass even more toward the edge as I kneel down in front of her and cover her with my mouth. Her flavor that I love so much hits my tongue and her fingers go to my hair. I reach down to my slacks and pull my cock out while I eat her, rubbing the length and pretending it’s her pussy wrapped around it.
I jerk off while I lick her pussy just how she likes it. Her body has only gotten better with age. She teases me and says one day I’m going to be old and we won’t be able to make love anymore, so we’ve got to get it all in now. It doesn’t matter to me, though. As long as she still lets me hold her at night, I don’t care.
“Henry, I need more.”
I look up at her, and we lock eyes while my mouth is still on her pussy. I see the intensity there, and I know she wants me inside her. I’ve never been able to deny her what she wants, so I get to my feet and slide her slickness down on my shaft, filling her to the brim.
“That’s it,” I soothe as she clenches around me and clings to my shirt.
I grip her ass hard and lift her off the island as I stand there in the middle of the kitchen and bounce her up and down on my cock. Her wet pussy coats me, and I glide in and out, hitting her sweet spot in just the right rhythm.
She can’t hold back and I feel her release run through her body as she holds on to me impossibly tighter. I grunt out my own inside her, swelling to the point of pain as her tight pussy squeezes me.
When I’ve given her all that I can, she’s limp in my arms. I carry her over to the sofa while I’m still inside her and sit down with her straddling my lap. I hold her like that for a long time, just rubbing her back and kissing her neck. She’s my whole world, and though these moments alone aren’t as frequent as they used to be, they are just as beautiful.
“I’m not wearing this dress to dinner,” she says, and I kiss the top of her head.
“Because it’s covered in cum now?” I ask, and she looks up at me smiling.
“You’re lucky I love you.” She kisses me softly on the lips.
“Not a day goes by when I don’t know that, baby.” I kiss her again and then tuck her hair behind her ear. “Want to order in and eat in bed?”
Her eyes light up and she’s already nodding before I can finish my sentence.
“Go get out of this dress and get under the covers. I’ll grab the menus.”
She leans down, kissing me one last time. This one is deeper than the last, and it’s filled with all that we’ve built. It’s love and respect, devotion and passion all rolled into one. It’s our past and our future and everything in between. It’s our story, and I love every part of it.
* * * * *
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Carina Press and the team of people that helped make this book happen. We loved this series so much and are thrilled that Henry got his story, too! Shout out to our editor, Angela James, for keeping us on track and finding the patience to work with us on yet another book... Oysters are overdue!
To our ride-or-die friends, thanks for feeding us too many carbs and sending panda gifs when we needed it the most. To our husbands, who always know exactly what to say and when to say it, you guys are the best.
Lastly, and most important, to our readers. There is an endless list of people who message us, send Snapchats, Instagram our books, and Tweet at us. We can’t say enough what each of those shout-outs mean to us. We are forever grateful that you’ve
come on this journey and paved the way for us to write the books you love. One day we’re going to find a way to give back all the generosity and kindness you’ve show us, but until then, WE LOVE YOU!!!
About the Author
Alexa Riley is a pseudonym for the sassy dynamic duo of Melissa King and Lea Robinson. Both are married moms of two who love football, doughnuts and obsessed heroes in novels. They bonded over their love of steamy reads in the summer of 2013 and haven’t been able to stop talking since.
Alexa Riley specializes in insta-love, over-the-top sweet and cheesy love stories that don’t take all year to read. If you want something safe, short and always with a happily-ever-after, then these are your girls. As a team, they are New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authors of more than thirty books.
Connect with Alexa Riley!
AlexaRiley.com
Facebook.com/AlexaRileyAR
Twitter.com/_AlexaRiley
Instagram.com/AuthorAlexaRiley
A FIGHTING CHANCE
Shannon Stacey
Dedication
For my husband, who has put up with over twenty years of watching sports with me. Thank you for not following through on duct-taping my mouth shut so you can hear the commentators. (Yet.)
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter One
It took Adeline Kendrick two laps around the massive casino resort property before she found the correct turn for the hotel’s valet parking, but she finally pulled under the right porte cochere and handed over her keys.
